Gender Equality Measures in Child Protection

Child Protection Tip Sheet

This Tip Sheet offers interventions, guiding questions and an example of how 4 Key Gender Equality Measures (GEMs) support gender equality in Child Protection projects and programs.   It should be read together with the GAM Overview.  The IASC GAM identifies and codes projects based on the extent to which key programming elements are consistently present in proposals and implemented projects.  Four steps (GEMs) are assessed in the design phase, and twelve GEMs are reviewed in monitoring.

Child protection interventions promote resilience, support existing coping strategies, prevent and respond to separations, violence and violations against girls and boys affected by the crisis. It is important that all children can access this protection equally.

Child protection interventions can make assistance responsive and fair, improving gender equality, by:

  • Describing and counting the distinct needs, response, and benefit rates by gender and age groups including, differences in violations/violence against girls and boys; their domestic and paid work roles; respective access to education, health and psychosocial services;
  • Tailoring services to reduce separation, violence, child marriage, labour and forced recruitment, to the needs and preferences of girls and boys in different age groups.
  • Providing equal opportunities to influence the design of projects for them;
  • Measuring whether boys and girls are protected fairly and barriers systematically addressed

Questions to inspire action:

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Gender mainstreaming, or a targeted action?

Some Child Protections interventions may target actions to address specific discrimination or gaps resulting from gender norms and expectations: these are “targeted actions” (T.)  For example, a project may focus solely on supporting adolescent girl survivors of sexual violence, or it may focus on addressing social norms that facilitate recruitment of boys into militias.

However, the majority of humanitarian interventions will aim to assist everyone in need while adapting activities to meet the roles and priorities of girls and boys (or women and men) in different age groups: gender mainstreaming (M.)  An example would be a mine risk education program aimed at communities, with different activities and messages for different gender and age groups. The GAM information sheets explain coding in more detail.

Example of Good Gender Equality Programming in child protection

(GAM Code 4T – can you work out why? See the GAM Overview)

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Using Gender Equality Measures in projects or cluster programs leads to better quality programming, responsive to gender and age issues.